This property has high local significance as the home from the turn of

the century of George Barber, pioneer district selector, berry and fruit

farmer. The house has architectural significance as an unusual and

intact example of an elevated Victorian residence with encircling

verandah, a design usually associated with houses in warmer climates.

The former Barber's Residence, also known as Forest Edge is a substantial timber house located on a large block at the edge of the Olinda State Forest. A sizeable and densely-planted garden envelopes the house, with only small, cleared pockets to the south-west, allowing access from the main driveway to the entrance.

The former Barber's Residence is a single storey timber building which dates from the late nineteenth century. Because of the slope of the site, the house incorporates a basement level to all but the rear, north-west elevation, which allows direct access from the garden to the house. Incorporated in the basement level is a cellar and storage rooms, as well as garage space. The stone pillars and foundations of the house are visible at this level.

The house is a square plan building with a gabled, corrugated iron roof. It has minimal ornamentation and is largely dominated by a wide, hipped verandah which surrounds the building on three sides. The substantial verandah has a timber floor and timber lined ceiling with square section, chamfered timber posts and a simply detailed balustrade of alternating panels of rectangular struts and timber cross-bracing. The width and preeminence of the verandah in the overall design is a feature more typically associated with residential architecture of warmer climates, making the house an unusual example in the region.

The front door was originally located on the south-east side of the house, where a centrally-located staircase allowed access to the wide verandah of the main facade. The staircase has since been removed. The main facade however remains unchanged and is symmetrical with a centrally located door flanked by door height windows to either side. Openings within the timber house generally have moulded timber surrounds fixed to the outside face of the wall.

Apart from the demolition of the entrance staircase and the relocation of the main entrance to the south-west facade the house has not been substantially changed to the exterior. Additions have included two small, skillion roofed extensions, sympathetically incorporated at the north-west and north-east corners.

Physical Conditions: Good

Integrity: Minor Modifications